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POP AND JAZZ GUIDE

Published: November 30, 2001

A selective listing by critics of The Times of noteworthy pop and jazz concerts in the New York metropolitan region this weekend. * denotes a highly recommended concert.

ANTIBALAS, Makor, 35 West 67th Street, Manhattan, (212) 601-1000. Antibalas gives a New York makeover to Fela Kuti's Afro-Beat, a Nigerian funk propelled by burly saxophones, fierce percussion and righteous anger, by updating both the funk and the political messages. Regular local appearances keep tightening up the band. Tomorrow night at 8:30, with Racine Okan, a Haitian band, opening; admission is $12 (Jon Pareles).

BARENAKED LADIES, LEONA NAESS, Roseland Ballroom, 239 West 52nd Street, Manhattan, (212) 777-6800. Barenaked Ladies is a group of wry, quick-tongued, close-harmonizing folkie types from Canada who have been clever and tuneful enough to reach No. 1 with the amiable ''One Week.'' Leona Naess sorts out a complicated love life in songs moving between gentle strumming and chunky rock that would please Sinead O'Connor fans. She asks herself a lot of questions, among them ''Why do I always chase the ones that run?'' Tonight at 7:30; tickets are $40 (Pareles).

* BATIDOS, Joe's Pub, 425 Lafayette Street, East Village, (212) 260-2400. House music and jazz both have Afro-Latin roots, and the disc jockey Ron Trent and the saxophonist Jay Rodriguez (from Groove Collective) put together Batidos (named for tropical-fruit milkshakes) to try out some connections. They made an album, Olájopé, and have now put together a live band -- including the spoken-word writer Dana Bryant and the vibraphonist Bill Ware -- to push the fusion further. It makes its debut tomorrow night at 7:30; admission is $15 (Pareles).

VINICIUS CANTUARIA, Tonic, 107 Norfolk Street, near Delancey Street, Lower East Side, (212) 358-7503. Vinicius Cantuaria is steeped in the bossa nova: its gently brushed guitar chords, its quietly elaborate melodies, its shades of sensuality and melancholy. He knows it well enough to stretch the form without losing its essence. He leads his band tonight at 8:30 and is joined by guest musicians at 10:30; admission is $15 (Pareles).

COMMANDER CODY, TriBeCa Blues, 16 Warren Street, TriBeCa, (212) 766-1070. While other late-1960's San Francisco bands were turning blues and country inside out, a pianist named Commander Cody decided that straightforward honky-tonk country music was psychedelic enough -- especially when he revived winking old songs like ''Hot Rod Lincoln,'' which allowed him to growl while tickling the 88's. Tomorrow night at 10, with the Eleven opening. Admission is $15, or $10 with a ticket stub from the Phil Lesh concert at the Beacon Theater, to benefit the New York City Police and Fire Departments' Widows and Children's Funds. (Pareles).

* JACK AND JIMMY COEN, Irish Arts Center, 553 West 51st Street, Manhattan, (212) 757-3318. The long-running traditional Irish music series from the Blarney Star in Lower Manhattan has moved uptown since Sept. 11 while repairs are made. This week's concert features Jack Coen, a redoubtable Irish traditional flutist who has won the National Heritage Award, accompanied by his son Jimmy on guitar. Tonight at 10; admission is $15 (Pareles).

COLD, DOPE, Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place, at 15th Street, Manhattan, (212) 777-6800. Cold may be glum, but its radio must be working; the band sets its mournful, bitter musings to half a dozen current alternative-rock shticks. Dope is more focused, turning adolescent frustrations into hard-rock hostility jingles so generic they're suitable for all sorts of occasions: telling off parents, breakups, mass murders. Tonight at 9; tickets are $17 (Pareles).

D12, KOTTONMOUTH KINGS, BIONIC JIVE, Roseland Ballroom, 239 West 52nd Street, Manhattan, (212) 777-6800. D12 is the posse of rappers around Eminem. Although it wants to shock its way to fame as he did, few of its raps come close to matching his twisted intelligence. The rap-rock band Kottonmouth Kings is down a few evolutionary rungs from the likes of the Beastie Boys and Rage Against the Machine and make Limp Bizkit sound funky. The belligerent, fast-talking Bionic Jive opens the concert. Sunday night at 7:30; tickets are $19 in advance, $22.50 Sunday (Pareles).

DICTATORS, Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, near the Bowery, Lower East Side, (212) 533-2111. It's amazing how many punk bands from the 1970's started to take themselves seriously. The Dictators, however, were never one of them; how could they be, with a leader named Handsome Dick Manitoba? Tonight at midnight, with Satanicide at 11 and Star Spangles at 10; admission is $15 (Pareles).

DIXIE DREGS, Inter-Media Art Center, 370 New York Avenue, Huntington, N.Y., (631) 549-2787; B. B. King Blues Club and Grill, 243 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (212) 997-4144. High-powered fusion-jazz adds a hint of country to this speed-fingered band. At the Inter-Media Art Center tomorrow night at 8 and 10:30; admission is $30. At B. B. King on Sunday night at 8; tickets are $30 in advance, $35 on Sunday (Pareles).